


Hollow Victory

by askull4everyoccasion



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-06
Updated: 2016-01-06
Packaged: 2018-05-12 05:50:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5654746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/askull4everyoccasion/pseuds/askull4everyoccasion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This explores one of the many timelines Flowey tried toying with and defeating Sans. In hopes of pushing him to his absolute limits and drive him insane, Flowey messes with the timeline to try and overload Sans and fight him at his weakest in an attempt to win.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“GGAAAAHHH!!”

Sans screamed as he sat up in bed, skull dripping and eye glowing a bright blue. Had that been another nightmare or had it been real? It was so hard to tell sometimes.

He sat in his bed for a few moments, the house still and silent until broken by the thudding of footsteps coming up the stairs. A fist pounded on the door.

“SANS? I HEARD YOU YELL, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

Papyrus' voice was impossible not to recognize, worry dripping off every word.

“y-... yeah i'm ok.” Sans took a few deep breaths and forced himself out of bed and towards the door for the sake of his brother. He unlocked it and cracked it open, the look on Papyrus' face saying enough on how he must have looked.

Papyrus stared at him in alarm which soon turned into deep concern. “SANS YOU LOOK TERRIBLE. DID YOU HAVE ANOTHER BAD DREAM?”

The two glowing white dots in Sans' eye sockets dimmed a little as he looked away and off into the darkness of his room behind him.

“... yeah. but i'm fine. you don't have to worry.”

Papyrus didn't look convinced.

“no, serious. i'm ok. just a bad dream. i have 'em all the time, pap. there isn't anything either of us can do about it so don't worry, alright?” Sans forced on that same mile-wide smile as always and shrugged, trying to make light of the situation so his brother would forget about it.

“HNNN... FINE. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT WE DON'T HAVE TO. BUT YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE FOR YOUR POST. I'VE MADE BREAKFAST.”

Papyrus started to walk away, getting to the top of the stairs before turning to look back at his brother slumped against the door frame. “EAT SOMETHING AND WASH UP BEFORE YOU LEAVE. I'M GOING TO RECALIBRATE MY PUZZLES.”

Sans nodded. “i will. don't worry about me. you know i'll just catch up on those z's at my station anyway.”

He winked at Papyrus but his brother didn't get angry or roll his eyes, merely sighing and heading out the door after reaching the bottom of the steps. Once he was gone Sans' grin fell and more of his weight leaned against the door frame. Today was going to be one of those days where he couldn't lie convincingly, he realized. He hated it when Papyrus worried about him. He didn't want his little brother to worry about anything ever, especially not him.

It took more effort than usual to finally start moving. Sans shoved on his coat and slippers before plodding down the stairs. He stopped in front of the fridge and opened it, staring inside at the containers of spaghetti and leftovers from Grillby's. Nothing looked worth eating. Before he knew it his head was resting against the freezer, eyes blankly staring into the dim light of the fridge for much longer than he meant to. He could have stood there all day without moving, he thought, but he had to move a little or Papyrus would really start to worry.

Sighing he closed the fridge and turned on his heel, the air dispersing around him as he teleported to his post just outside the ruins. He slumped in his chair and propped his feet up on the counter.

The day shaped up to be the same as a lot of others. Sans sat at his post for awhile before going to Grillby's, then checking up on Papyrus, going to a few of his other posts in the Underground, then right back to Grillby's. It was a predictable existence but that was welcome.

It was starting to get late but Sans was beginning to feel back into the grove of pretending everything was okay. No one at Grillby's could tell anything was wrong with all the jokes he was cracking. That was good, he didn't want any of his friends to worry.

Things were going well until one of the guards shoved open the door a little too hard, startling everyone to turn their way. They rushed over to the group of dogs sat around their usual table and hurriedly whispered something to them. A moment later and they all got up, grabbing their weapons before rushing out the door. The jovial mood of the bar suddenly turned sour. Hushed whispers began, speculating what was happening.

“What was that all about?”

“You think it's an emergency?”

“A human, maybe?”

“I heard them say something about... vines... or a flower or something. What's up with that?”

Sans had been silent through the entire exchange, at least until that point. The bottle of ketchup heading towards his mouth stopped and he slowly turned to face the monster who had spoken last.

“... did you say flower?”

Something deep in his skull twitched. Deja vu?

Memories he didn't know he had trickled back slowly, his eye sockets going dim. He must have been sitting there as still as the dead for a few minutes because it was enough to get Grillby to actually talk.

“... Sans.”

The voice was soft but crackled like the fire Grillby was made out of. It was so rarely heard, even for Sans, that it startled him into looking up.

“... yeah. sorry, slipped away for a moment there.”

He stared at Grillby, somehow able to read his otherwise emotionless face rather well. They had known each other for so long it had become easy. He could tell he was worried.

“if something is going on i better go check on pap.”

Sans slipped off the stool, his slippers landing on the wooden floor.

Everything went black.

Sans' eye sockets sprung open, his left eye flickering yellow and blue. He stared at the ceiling for a few long moments before slowly sitting up.

Had that... had that been a dream?

He rubbed his head and pushed himself out of bed to look out his window. Everything seemed fine. Normal. There was a knock at the door.

“SANS? YOU NEED TO GET UP! YOU'RE ALREADY LATE FOR YOUR JOBS.”

Sans slowly rubbed at his chin and turned to the door.

“y-yeah pap, i'm up. i'll be... i'll be right out.” At least he knew Papyrus was safe.

“... ARE YOU FEELING ALRIGHT?”

Dammit.

Sans smacked at his face a few times to try and get himself together, at least for his brother's sake.

“yeah i'm fine bro, just sat up too fast is all.” He managed to say without mumbling or stuttering. This seemed to be enough to satisfy the skeleton behind the door.

“... OKAY. I MADE BREAKFAST. PLEASE WASH UP BEFORE YOU LEAVE.”

At those words Sans felt a chill go up his spine. Deja vu again. Had this happened before? Well of course it had but this was... too similar. Hadn't he just experienced nearly this same thing?

The day went by almost exactly the same as before. He went to his posts, to Grillby's, checked on Papyrus, his other posts, then right back to Grillby's when it got later in the day. Of course there was nothing strange about his routine but things felt too similar. Things people said felt like they lined up too perfectly with something he had heard before. Then, as the night drew on, he saw the guard rush in and whisper to the dogs before they all ran out. The same murmur began anew, but this time Sans didn't ask about the flower.

He sat there, staring out at the crowd inside before slowly turning to stare at the cups and bottles behind the bar. Part of him wanted to stay. He felt like he hadn't done that before when everything started over, but... if something really was happening he couldn't not go make sure Papyrus was okay.

Without saying anything to Grillby this time Sans slipped off the stool and landed on the floor. He stood there for a moment, expecting something but unsure what exactly. When nothing happened he started towards the door. His hand reached for the knob, the cold air blowing open his puffy jacket.

Then everything went black.

Sans opened his eyes laying in his bed, the same blue and yellow flickering in his socket.

… What? What was...

He jumped out of bed perhaps a little too quickly, stumbling backwards and onto the edge of his bare mattress. After shaking his head and sitting for a moment he realized that his eye was still flickering.

That was weird, but... maybe it meant something. Maybe he didn't fully understand it like he thought he did.

Sans groaned and rubbed his eye socket. After regaining some of his composure he stood and walked to his dresser, opening one of the drawers to pull out the key to his lab. His slippers and coat were hurriedly put on and just as he was opening his bedroom door to run out Papyrus was at the top of the stairs.

“SANS?”

They stared at each other for a instant before Sans yanked his eyes away and started to hurry down the steps past Papyrus.

“i'm fine bro, just remembered something i gotta do is all.”

Before Papyrus could open his mouth to inquire Sans was already out the door.

He ran around to the back of the house, unlocking his lab and quickly shutting the door behind him. His hands scrambled for the drawers of his desk, opening and closing them until he found his log book. He tore it open to the latest page but as he began to read it he could feel something strange. Sans snapped his head upwards, eye flashing.

Was this...?

The world felt like it shut off but only for a split second. Sans found himself standing outside the door to his lab, key inches away from the lock.

He stood there, staring.

A log book wasn't needed for this. He could feel it. The resets were coming so fast and so often that he didn't even have time to forget completely. The usual vague flashbacks that slipped away had turned to creepy deja vu, which in turn were starting to becoming clear memories.

He could feel the burn of his eye still glowing, each reset setting off his powers and putting him on high alert. Sans rubbed his eye and stashed the key in one of the pockets of his jacket before turning the opposite direction and beginning to walk.

Unsure of why he was walking or even where, Sans put one foot in front of the other. Why were so many resets happening in such quick succession? Who was doing it?

Sans finally stopped upon reaching one of Papyrus' puzzles. He stared at it and let his mind go blank for a moment. Just a moment of peace. A moment to rest his mind.

His eye sockets closed and he hung his head.

Stay calm. Clear your head.

The tickle in the back of his head returned.

Sans' head snapped up, eye glimmering.

No. Again?

“... wait...” He whispered to no one in particular, a futile word lost to the world as everything went black.

Eyes flew open, blue and yellow flashing rapidly in the depths of Sans' left socket.

Who could be doing this? Or what?

He sat up slowly and went to his door, opening it again just as Papyrus was coming up the stairs. Just as before his brother looked surprised.

“SANS? YOU'RE UP EARLY. ARE YOU-”

Sans cut him off before he could finish. “i'm fine, pap. have you... noticed anything weird, lately? like deja vu?”

Papyrus blinked and thought for a moment, a gloved hand going to his bottom jaw.

“NNO... NO I HAVEN'T. WHY? IS-”

Again, Sans cut him off. He didn't usually do this but this was really beginning to wear his nerves thin.

“everything is fine.”

Papyrus looked surprised that Sans had managed to answer his questions before he even had a chance to finish them twice in a row.

“i'm gonna go check something out, ok bro? don't worry about me.”

Sans walked past his brother, patting his shoulder and heading down the stairs to slip out the door. Papyrus could do little more than stare, the whole conversation being so strange that, for once, he didn't know what to say.

The day was spent filled with worry and anxiety. Usually Sans would spend his time doing the opposite of what he was doing now; pacing around and waiting for the inevitable reset. Even when he tried to sit down and take a nap he just couldn't. He was too stressed.

He teleported to Hotland and considered using Alphys' lab to try and determine what was causing the resets, but wasn't even sure where to begin. The research had barely gotten far enough to figure out what DETERMINATION was and what it did, let alone how to pinpoint where it was being used. Surely figuring that out now when everything reset in under a day was impossible.

Somehow Sans ended up staring at the core, fighting with himself over if he had done the right thing. Would they be in this situation now if he had done things differently?

He sighed and rubbed his head. No, there was no point in arguing with himself over that. It was done. Right now he had to concentrate on the matter at hand, to figure out what was causing so many resets so close together.

But where did he even start?

Sans' eyes went dark and he slowly crumpled into a heap, sitting down and pulling his legs against his chest. The underground was already a small place to begin with and he was the only one who noticed the resets or even knew anything about them. It made the world so much smaller. He lived in it alone. Not even Papyrus could bring him comfort.

He pulled his hood up and yanked it over his eyes, as if he could somehow hide himself enough to simply stop existing altogether. His head was starting to throb trying to keep up with all the resets and he could feel the magic inside of him writhe around in agitation. He wasn't supposed to be able to remember them that well. Usually they were just a bad dream or deja vu and nothing more. As horrible as that was he preferred it that way... it was easier to deal with. But this?

It was making him tired. His body wasn't suited to keep up with this.

The tickle he felt from earlier during the reset now turned into a hard pounding behind where his eye would normally be. From the darkness of his hood he could see it glowing again. He could feel it coming. Anxiety welled up in his chest.

“stop...” His fingers clutched at his hood and everything went black.

\---

Sans lay in bed, eyes wide. He couldn't calm down. His eye remained perpetually glowing and his head ached. Looking down he could even see a faint glow under his shirt. That was... probably bad. He didn't even hear Papyrus knock on the door and yell for him the first time. It took a few more tries before his eyes snapped to the door and he forced himself up.

Moving hurt. Everything was sore.

He shuffled to the door and cracked it open.

“SA-...”

This time it was Papyrus' turn to cut himself off. He didn't recall seeing Sans so ill looking before... and his eye...

“SANS... ARE...”

“i gotta go.”

Sans grabbed his jacket and pushed past Papyrus. He couldn't listen to him repeat the same questions over again. He couldn't look at that same expression. He couldn't do it. He couldn't do this.

“SANS, PLEASE.” Papyrus said, concern dripping from his words. He reached for his brother's shoulder as he passed, grasping it with his gloved hand. Sans stopped but didn't turn around.

“SANS, SOMETHING IS WRONG. PLEASE-”

“P a p y r u s.”

The taller skeleton froze, his hand slowly slipping off his brother's shoulder. Sans' voice was deeper than he had ever heard and sounded like it was echoing all around him. Papyrus said nothing as he watched Sans walk down the stairs and out the door.

\---

Again Sans found himself walking without any clear direction. He just felt like he needed to get away from Papyrus before he said something he regretted. Leaving him hanging like he had was bad enough.

He wandered towards the ruins, stumbling between the trees. The pain was getting worse. His head was throbbing. The light from his eye reflected off the snow around him. Finally he stopped and leaned against one of the trees to catch his breath, taking a moment to peek under his shirt to see if his soul was still glowing.

It was.

Sans pulled at his hood, tugging it over his eyes as his body trembled. Just as he began to bend his knees to collapse into the snow he felt the ground beneath him shift. The sound of snow dispersing behind him was followed by a chipper, happy voice he swear he had heard before.

“Howdy!”


	2. Chapter 2

Sans turned his head slowly, glowing eye focusing on the tiny yellow flower that had sprung up behind him.

“I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower! But you already know that, don't you?” The flower giggled childishly. “Or don't you? It's so easy to forget if I've met you before this time around!”

Sans said nothing, not even fully turning around to face the little plant poking up from the snow.

“Are you enjoying my new plan?” Flowey asked, grin unfaltering. “Oh, but I guess you've forgotten that I can reset haven't you?” He giggled cheerfully, wiggling his petals and bouncing on his stem. That seemed to be enough to get Sans to finally turn around and face him.

“That's okay, friend. We've met before, you and I. Many, many times in fact!”

He paused to see if the skeleton would say anything, but nothing came. Sans was never particularly talkative to him in any timeline. Perhaps he got a 'feeling' of what would happen if he was, or knew it wouldn't mean anything in the end anyway.

“I've been playing around with this world for what feels like years. Do you know what's always the same?” He paused only slightly before continuing.

“You, silly!” Flowey snickered. “In the end you always stop me. I haven't beaten you yet! Not that you're particularly strong, of course. Papyrus is much more capable! But you know little Papyrus, wouldn't hurt a fly!”

Mention of Papyrus finally seemed to get Sans to twitch. Flowey's face morphed into a twisted grin.

“I know I can't beat you, smiley trashbag. So why don't I just play with you instead?”

Sans only had enough time to widen his eyes, the pain becoming more intense inside his skull just as the world went black.  
-  
The world started the same as before, Sans waking up and staring at the ceiling. His eye flashed rapidly and his soul began to glow more profoundly. He could hear Papyrus start to walk up the stairs before the pain got stronger and the world reset again.

Flashing. Throbbing. Footsteps. Reset.

Flashing. Throbbing. Footsteps. Reset.

Flashing. Throbbing. Footsteps. Reset.

It happened again and again and Sans swore he could hear that stupid little plant giggling. He clutched at his sheets, the pounding in his skull and the fire inside his eye and soul becoming more intense with every LOAD.

He couldn't take it anymore.

After yet another reset Sans sprung up faster than he ever recalled doing so before and teleported to the same spot he had met Flowey 'moments' ago. He didn't know what he could feel bubbling up in his chest. Was it magic? Was it rage? At this point he didn't care. All he wanted was to see that stupid little flower to wipe that stupid little grin off his stupid little face.

Today would be his lucky day.

There was no reset. Flowey popped out of the ground in front of him with that same cute little smile. He opened his mouth to say something, perhaps to mock Sans or praise himself for a plan well executed, but he didn't get that far.

Sans wasted no time. As soon as the snow had finished falling from Flowey's petals Sans had a blaster pointed directly at him. Flowey and the area behind where he had been was blown away in seconds.

Afterward he stood in silence, panting heavily. Turning Flowey into nothing had been satisfying, but only temporarily. Not a minute later and he felt the world reset again, this time to just before Flowey had shown himself.

“Golly, you sure must be feeling something right now for you to be that angry with me, huh?”

His voice came from somewhere else, Sans spinning around in the snow to try and determine where it was. He was surrounded by trees; Flowey could be hiding behind any one of them.

Blue and yellow flickered off his eye like flames, the glow of his soul painfully obvious under his white t-shirt.

“I bet you would really like to see some of our past get-togethers! You, me, Papyrus... we have tons of fun! Shall I load one up for you to see?”

The anger Sans felt quickly turned to dread, but before he could react the world changed once again.

Usually when SAVES were loaded it was at least a little consistent with what had happened previously, not from something that had perhaps happened a long time ago. Or had it not happened long ago at all? It was impossible to tell, but this time around was different for sure.

Sans could feel one consciousness crash into another. One mind, oblivious to everything that had happened previously was smashed into the Sans as he was now. The world spun and he felt like he had just been hit by a truck. His body fell into the snow, a hammering in his head that muted the world around him.

With time the vibrations in the ground beneath him and a muffled shouting brought him back to reality. Slowly he pushed himself up, finding himself clothed and somewhere in Snowdin. Papyrus was stood a few feet in front, struggling to break free of vines wrapped around his arms and legs. He was shaking, clearly injured but was still trying to talk down his attacker rather than fight back.

Flowey did nothing more than laugh as he thrashed Papyrus with long, thorned vines summoned from the base of his stem. His attention turned to Sans, a wicked grin spread across his face.

“Remember this now, don't you IDIOT?”

Any discomfort or dizziness left Sans in an instant. He pushed himself up, rows of bones and blasters summoning around him and crashing into Flowey and the vines again and again until nothing was left. Papyrus fell back onto his rear, watching as everything unfolded in front of him and only speaking up once it was all over and done.

“SANS, I... I COULD HAVE TALKED TO HIM. HE WAS MY FRIEND! HE WAS JUST CONFUSED!”

Papyrus' words went on deaf ears. Sans stood staring at the damage he had dealt to the area Flowey had been in only moments before.

“SANS...?”

Finally his eyes turned to look at Papyrus, who appeared startled at his glowing eye and chest. Despite how wounded he was, all that concerned him now was the state of his brother. His mouth opened to speak again, to try and get Sans to move or say anything, but the smaller skeleton collapsed around him instead. Comparatively tiny arms hugged around Papyrus' shoulders and Sans burrowed into face his brother's neck.

He sobbed. Even with his eyes closed the blue and yellow flames flickered from the small crack that was his eyelid. Papyrus winced at the pain of being touched but reached around to hold his brother nonetheless.

“SANS... I'M FINE. EVERYTHING IS OKAY.”

Despite thinking that Sans had killed his friend too quickly without giving them a proper chance to talk it out, he couldn't yell at him now. Not when he was like this. He let Sans cry on his shoulder as long as he needed to.

Gradually Sans' tears slowed and he lifted his head. “lets... get you home and patched up...” He mumbled, suddenly exhausted. He wasn't even thinking of the resets now. All that mattered that Papyrus was with him and alive.

Papyrus nodded and let his shorter brother help him stand up however little he could. The two hobbled back home, beaten and exhausted. As much as Papyrus wanted to ask why Sans was glowing so much he held his words back, knowing his brother wouldn't want to talk about it.

Sans never really told anyone anything. Not even him sometimes.

The two walked home in silence and once they were there not much was said between them. Sans helped Papyrus clean his wounds as best he could but any sort of healing magic was well off the table for him right now, not that he was any good at it anyway. Papyrus would heal fast enough on his own.

Sans helped him to bed and sat down beside him. The glowing hadn't stopped and until now Papyrus had let it slide. But with them safe at home and everything patched up he couldn't ignore it any longer.

“SANS... ARE YOU OKAY?”

Sans winced at those words. They had been repeated so many times recently. Just as he was about to say he was fine like he always did, Papyrus spoke up again.

“PLEASE DON'T LIE TO ME...”

His face twisted, he grit his teeth and hung his head. Boney hands came together in his lap and squeezed. What was he supposed to say? Not even he really knew what was happening anymore.

He chose not to say anything, at least not until he felt Papyrus reach out to take his hand. Sans looked up, his little brother frowning down at him sadly. There was no way he could deal with that and keep a straight face.

A sob escaped his mouth before he caught himself and wiped the tears from his eyes. “pap... bro... i'm not sure what's real anymore.”

Papyrus looked confused. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN...?”

“i... look... i can't really explain it. things are just really messed up right now, ok? you just gotta take my word for it.” Sans choked out, trying to keep his tears in check.

“I... OKAY. I BELIEVE YOU.”

It wasn't the answer he wanted, but at least it was better than what he usually got. “AND WHAT ABOUT...?”

Papyrus gestured to the glow of his brother's eye and chest. Sans looked down, grasping at the edges of his jacket to try and pull it tight in order to hide just how brightly it was shining.

“i'm not sure...” He answered at least somewhat honestly. “been using a lot of magic lately. probably has something to do with it.”

“SANS YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T USE IT ALL THE TIME. YOU KNOW HOW FRAIL YOU ARE.” Papyrus chided. Of course it would be better if Sans exercised, but even then his brother had always been fragile.

“yeah... i know, bro.” He said meekly. “let's just try and get some sleep, ok?”

“... OKAY.”

Satisfied enough with Sans' answers, Papyrus slid down under his blankets and let his head rest against the pillow. Sans stayed sitting in the chair beside the bed, holding his brother's hand all through the night. Despite being exhausted he could barely sleep. Every time his head drooped nightmares would flood into his mind, snapping him back awake in a state of paranoia. Each time it felt like he would wake back up in his bed staring at the ceiling.

The night passed without incident, Papyrus waking up and scolding Sans for sitting in his room all night and not going to bed. Even though he was outwardly more injured than his brother, Papyrus made them breakfast and they went about their day in relative normalcy. There were no patrols or trips to Grillby's. Both of them stayed inside and cared for one another.

A full day passed with no resets.

Papyrus was healing well, but Sans didn't seem to be getting any better. It didn't matter where he was but he couldn't seem to ever fully sleep for more than a few minutes. The glow of his eye and chest hadn't stopped and the pain wasn't subsiding.

Yet another day passed and Papyrus was beginning to get very concerned.

“SANS... YOU'RE ILL. WE SHOULD TAKE YOU TO SOMEONE.”

He sat down on the couch beside Sans, who looked like he hadn't had any sleep in days. Even the grin plastered on his face looked to be more out of pain than anything else.

“you're the only one i need, pap.” Sans tried to joke but it fell flat.

Papyrus furrowed his brow. “SANS.”

With a sigh Sans closed his eyes, colorful magic dancing from the small opening of his eye socket. He didn't know what to say, not that anything would keep Papyrus from doing what he thought was best anyway, not at this point. Surely as soon as they left the house everything would reset again. That thought alone filled him with panic.

“WE'RE DOING IT.” Papyrus said and stood up. That was that then, there would be no getting him to stop now.

Sans grimaced and pushed himself off the couch to drag himself to the bathroom. He shut the door and stared at himself in the mirror, suddenly realizing why Papyrus was so concerned. Who knew skeletons could look even deader than they already did?

He slipped his jacket off and onto the floor before doing much the same with his shirt. He hadn't gotten a good look at what was going on behind his ribcage since the whole mess started, but now that he did he regretted it.

You usually couldn't see a monsters soul, even when they didn't have any flesh to hide it to begin with, but there it was as plain as day. The glowing blue heart pulsated behind his ribs, contracting and sending a wave of pain through every bone in his body.

Sans leaned against the sink and breathed through each surge of agony as it came.

What was he supposed to do?

The next thing Sans knew he was growling and clutching his head, legs barely able to keep himself upright.

No... no! Not again!

The world crashed around him, the softness of the mattress beneath him giving no comfort at all. He raised his hands to his face as though it would make everything go away, make everything stop. He was going insane. How was he supposed to deal with this? A part of him wanted to cry, but... he just didn't have the energy.

Those same footsteps. That same knock on the door. Papyrus' same words. Sans didn't move or even reply this time.

As Papyrus grew increasingly concerned outside his door, the entire house began to shake. The sound of glass shattering finally got Sans to move his arm from over his eyes and not a moment later Papyrus did away with notions of privacy and swung the door open.

“SANS!”

Nothing more came out of his mouth before Sans sat up abruptly, adrenaline masking the pain he was feeling. His window shattered moments later, a long vine twisting its way inside the room.

Sans scrambled from his bed and grabbed onto Papyrus, teleporting both of them a few yards away from their house. Looking back they could see vines wrapping around every part of their home. Windows cracked and wood splintered, each ounce of pressure destroying it more and more.

“WHAT... I DON'T UNDERSTAND...” The skeleton began, watching the havoc unfold. His attention was only diverted once he felt Sans clutch at his side and slump against him.

Despite only teleporting a few yards it had been enough to do away with the pain-masking adrenaline he had felt moments before. His chest felt like it was going to explode. Sans moaned in pain, one hand clutching at his brother and the other at his chest.

“OH MY GOD, SANS...” Papyrus' eyes widened. From his perspective his brother had been fine yesterday. What on earth had happened since then to cause this?

Before he could get any answers the sound of earth shifting towards them grew louder and louder. The vines that had been wrapping around their house receded and instead changed their target to the two of them. Papyrus quickly grabbed Sans, lifting him into his arms and sprinting as fast as he could away from town. All he could hope to do was get it as far away from everyone else as possible until the Royal Guard showed up.

He ran and ran, able to feel a strange heat radiating from his brother's chest while holding him tightly against himself.

“p-... pap...” Sans mumbled out, each word strained.

“QUIET SANS!” Papyrus scolded, running a bit further before ducking behind a tree and standing as still and silently as he could. Why was that thing chasing them? What was it?

The sound of the vines slowed. They pushed past the snow and trees, creeping this way and that in search of the two brothers. Papyrus held his breath.

“Howdy Papyrus!”

Flowey popped up in front of him, the skeleton jumping in surprise. Vines began to wrap around the two of them, but Papyrus was able to quickly duck and run out of the way before spinning around to see all of it coming from Flowey's base.

“FLOWEY? THAT WAS YOU? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?” Papyrus asked in confusion. Just the other day they had been calmly chatting as friends!

“Oh poor little Papyrus. You're such a dumb fool.” The flower's grin turned malicious. “I'm just playing a little game with your brother, is all! Look how much fun he's having!”

Papyrus looked down. Sans was slumped against him, his skull so wet it looked like it was melting. His chest rose and fell laboriously and he felt hot all over.

“YOU... DID THIS...?” His head rose to look at Flowey, hurt that someone he considered a friend would be doing something so harmful to his only brother; his only family.

“You could say that.” The plant smiled, bobbing up and down on his stem.

“WHY?”

Flowey giggled. “Why else, silly? Because I can!”

The vines that had been collecting at his base shot out to strike Papyrus. But he hadn't been lying when he said that Papyrus was overall better, the taller skeleton able to deflect or dodge each attack, rows of bones shooting outward to keep himself and Sans safe.

“You can't protect your trashbag of a brother forever, Papyrus!” Flowey mocked. He knew that even when things got really bad Papyrus could never bring himself to deal the killing blow.

The skeleton tightened his jaw and looked down at Sans. There was no way he could defend himself in this condition. He would have to protect him. One blow would be enough to end it all.

Slowly he kneeled and set down his brother in the snow against one of the trees behind him before turning to face Flowey. As long as he could hold out until the Royal Guard arrived everything would be fine... right?


	3. Chapter 3

Papyrus didn't remember, but he had fought Flowey many times before. Each time had been to his death, unless of course Sans intervened. As strong as he was Papyrus was weak in the part that mattered, he was simply too nice. No matter the situation or how dire the consequences he never gave up. He would fight and hold faith in you to the very end.

While Sans lay against the tree his brother was fighting tirelessly. Flowey sent out waves and waves of vines and thorns, striking across Papyrus' arms and legs whenever he missed blocking with his attacks. Of course Flowey received his own punishment, quite a few of Papyrus' attacks crashing into him again and again. The vines made him a much bigger target.

Both were beginning to get tattered and torn, Papyrus standing his ground in front of Sans and breathing heavily. Where was the guard? What was taking them so long? His thoughts were cut off short by Flowey's cackling laugh.

“I know how this ends, Papyrus. You can't kill me. You don't have it in you. You can never kill anyone! I'll kill you in front of your brother and force him to watch it again... and again... and again! Do you know how many times he's watched you die? How many times he's failed at protecting you?”

Papyrus didn't know what Flowey was talking about. Him? Die? How could he have died if he was alive right now? Even so he glanced back at his brother, who had his glowing eye open and a sneer plastered across his face.

“I... I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! MY BROTHER MIGHT BE LAZY BUT HE WOULD NEVER LET ME DOWN AND I WILL NEVER LET HIM DOWN!” Papyrus jabbed back, although it was clear from his voice that Flowey's words had rattled him.

Flowey cackled. “Go on, Sans! Tell him how many times he's died. Tell him how many times you -watched it happen-!” He bounced from side to side on his stem. “You'll never protect your brother. You'll always fail! He'll die and he'll die and he'll die and it will always be your fault!”

An echoing laugh rung out amongst the trees, Flowey picking up his attacks once more. He started to land more and more blows to Papyrus, the skeleton shaken by his words and unable to concentrate as well as he had been before.

“... pap...” Sans mumbled out, watching as his little brother was pelted with tendrils and thorns. Flowey's words buzzed in his skull. He had watched Papyrus die so many times. He was useless. There was nothing he could do. It would all get reset again. It was going to happen again right now. He was going to lay here and watch his brother die right in front of him. His chest pounded.

No.

No he wasn't.

Sans gripped at the bark of the tree behind him and slowly pulled himself to stand. One bare foot stepped in front of the other until he was inches behind Papyrus, staring at Flowey from around his side with more rage than he had ever felt before. His soul ached. His head pounded. Pain coursed through every part of his being.

“Oh! Are you going to finally step in for once?” Flowey asked, giggling like a child. Papyrus turned his head to look down at his brother.

“SANS? NO, YOU SHOULD-”

He didn't manage to get another word out, Sans grabbing onto his shoulder and gently pushing him aside. The magic flickering from his eye began to billow outwards. He raised his left hand, Flowey's body glowing blue.

Sans slammed him and every vine he sent out into the ground, pinning him completely to the ground. This didn't stop Flowey from laughing even as rows and rows of bone attacks surged into him, ripping and tearing at his leaves and petals. They were slow at first but became faster and faster, crashing into the soulless plant again and again.

Trembling, Sans grit his teeth and summoned blasters to fire at where Flowey's body was rooted. More bones. More blasters. Faster. More. Faster!

He huffed around his grit teeth, magic spitting out of his eye rapidly while his attacks became more erratic and dangerous. Flowey's vines turned to shreds, then to pulp as Sans continued his attacks. He hadn't even realized that the laughing had stopped.

Papyrus could only watch.

-CRACK-

His eyes jerked down to Sans, the magic beginning to tear a crack above his glowing left eye.

“SANS!” Papyrus grasped his brother's shoulders and shook him but it didn't stop him. Sans continued his attacks on the decimated spot of earth Flowey had once been in.

“SANS!!” He shook him harder. “STOP!”

Finally he got through. Every bone and blaster vanished. The flames shooting from his eye subsided and Sans wobbled on his feet. The forest was silent but for an instant.

Sans crumpled to his hands and knees, the calm broken by the sound of liquid hitting snow. Blue liquid poured from his mouth and onto the ground, covering the front of his shirt and pooling around his hands. Papyrus kneeled down and put his arms across his brother's back, watching as he puked up more magic then he ever thought was even inside him.

Bit by bit it stopped, Sans left huffing and puffing bent over a pool of blue magic. He could feel the crack above his eye, a slow drip of the same substance sliding down his eye socket and into the puddle below. Papyrus slowly helped him sit up, letting Sans lean against him weakly.

“P a p y r u s. . .”

His eyes widened and he looked down at Sans, in his mind having never heard his brother sound so deep and echoing.

“WE... WE NEED TO GET YOU HOME...” Papyrus said uneasily as he scooped Sans in his arms and began yet another painful trek back to their house.

Papyrus carried his brother all the way home, Sans twitching and mumbling in his arms like he was seeing ghosts. There was little he could do or say to sooth him, but he didn't want to waste any time in getting help. He began to carry Sans up the stairs and to his room but was stopped by a weak grip on his arm.

“D o n 't. N o t m y b e d. I c a n 't...”

Sans didn't finish his sentence, Papyrus looking down at him sadly and turning around to lay his brother down on the couch instead. He didn't know why Sans preferred it to his mattress but right now all that was important was comfort.

“I'M GOING TO CALL THE DOCTOR. HANG IN THERE, BROTHER.”

Papyrus covered Sans with a blanket and moved into the kitchen, his words becoming muffled as he talked to someone on the phone. Meanwhile Sans lay on the couch clutching at his chest. He could feel more magic dripping from the crack in his skull and sliding down the rim of his eye socket.

He swore he could hear Flowey laughing. So many timelines were crashing around in his head, confusing him more and more as the seconds ticked by. Was Papyrus alive? How had he gotten back home? Where was he?

Pain clouded things even further, Sans becoming delirious and confused. His head rolled on the pillow and a grin spread across his face. “H a h a h a h a h a...”

What was he laughing at? Wait, where was he? Papyrus...? Where was Papyrus?

Sans twisted his head around this way and that but couldn't see him. Panic set in.

“P a p y r u s... P a p y r u s!”

He clutched at the blanket, tossing and turning until seconds later Papyrus was at his side.

“SANS! SANS CALM DOWN, I'M HERE.”

Sans looked at him, one socket pitch black while the other glowed fiercely. Fright turned into shock, which then turned into delight, like suddenly everything was okay. He laughed, grasping weakly at Papyrus' arm.

“O h... y o u 'r e a l i v e. T h a t 's g o o d. Y o u w e r e d e a d a s e c o n d a g o.”

Sans started to laugh dementedly again, his brother staring on in shock. Moments later Sans retched forward, magic spewing out of his mouth and onto the floor. Papyrus barely managed to get out of the way in time, straining his already injured body.

“PLEASE SANS, LAY DOWN. TRY TO SLEEP.” Papyrus urged his brother down but all he did was laugh.

“I f I g o t o s l e e p e v e r y t h i n g w i l l s t a r t o v e r. I t n e v e r e n d s.”

Papyrus just gave him a worried look before standing up to fetch something to clean the magic up with. He returned with a bucket just in case Sans continued to eject magic and by the time he had finished cleaning up the doctor arrived.

She did their best to heal Sans but explained that the damage done was mostly self-inflicted. Surface wounds and even illnesses could be cured easily with the proper magic, but when those wounds and afflictions were caused by the very soul that was meant to be healed there was little one could do. All she could manage was to bandage his eye and give him something for the pain.

Thankfully Papyrus' wounds were easily treated and after only a few minutes of casting he was feeling almost back to normal. He would be sore but that was nothing compared to what Sans was going through.

With instructions to take care of Sans and keep him from using any magic, the doctor left.

Papyrus sat down beside his brother and turned on the TV, making sure the volume was low to try and help his brother sleep. Sans twitched and tossed, occasionally laughing and even crying at nothing in particular. Papyrus had to wonder what was going on inside his brother's head. What was he seeing to make him so manic?

As much as it pained to sit still for so long he couldn't imagine leaving Sans' side. He sat in front of the TV with his brother's head in his lap for hours. Sans puked a few more times, each time Papyrus helping him sit up and wiping anything away from his mouth before convincing him to lay back down. He would have to call Undyne and cancel their training plans.

After hours Sans finally fell asleep, Papyrus following not shortly after despite being in a rather uncomfortable position on the couch.  
–  
Sans' sleep was plagued with nightmares. He saw Flowey, Papyrus dead, the underground desolate and even Gaster. He woke up with a start, yelling and clutching his chest as the pain came surging back.

Was the timeline reset? Where was he?

He pushed himself up and felt the room spin. Something bubbled up in his chest, Sans barely able to lean over and puke into the bucket Papyrus had left him in time. He stared down into the swirling blue and yellow mess. If that bucket was there it surely meant things hadn't reset... right?

“SANS!” Papyrus rushed from his room and down the stairs. “YOU'RE AWAKE. ARE YOU FEELING ALRIGHT?”

Sans looked over at him, one eye a black void and the other wrapped in a blue-stained bandage. “... n-... no... not... really...” He answered honestly for once.

Papyrus sighed; at least his voice was back to normal. He approached the couch and helped Sans sit upright, noting the dirty bandage.

“THE DOCTOR SAID SHE COULDN'T DO MUCH FOR YOU. SHE GAVE YOU SOMETHING FOR THE PAIN, AT LEAST. LET ME GO GET IT.”

Papyrus left for only a moment, coming back with a cup filled with foul smelling liquid and fresh wrappings.

“DRINK THIS. I NEED TO CHANGE YOUR BANDAGES.”

Sans took the cup and, like most things, downed it without trying to taste it. You developed that habit when living with Papyrus' cooking. It was as bad as he guessed.

“ugh...” He handed the empty cup back and sat slumped as Papyrus set about changing the bandages around his head. “so... what exactly happened?”

Papyrus looked surprised. “DON'T YOU REMEMBER?”

Sans laughed at the irony of that question. “just humor me, bro.”

“WELL I WAS COMING UP THE STAIRS TO WAKE YOU WHEN...” He stopped himself from mentioning Flowey's name. “... WHEN VINES STARTED TO CRUSH OUR HOUSE.”

Papyrus gestured to the boarded up windows and cracks in the drywall, having spent most of his time getting things slightly back in order as much as he could. “WE FOUGHT A STRANGE FLOWER MONSTER WHO PLANNED TO KILL YOU. YOU... WOKE UP LOOKING PRETTY BAD TO BEGIN WITH BUT YOU KIND OF LOST IT AND MADE YOURSELF WORSE.”

He pulled off the bandage and winced looking at the long crack above Sans' eye. It was still leaking slightly and his eye was still glowing fiercely. Sans reached up, feeling just how large the crack was and flinching at the pain.

“NO TOUCHING.” Papyrus scolded, gently pushing his brother's hand away and cleaning up any remnants of magic before starting to patch him up again.

“... oh... yeah. that happened...” Sans mumbled. So the timeline hadn't reset again yet.

What was Flowey planning?

Papyrus finished bandaging up his brother, the two of them sitting in silence for the duration. As he went to throw the dirty bandages away Sans stopped him, a hand weakly holding onto the edge of his sweater.

“pap i... i gotta talk to you about something...”

His eyes widened. It wasn't like Sans to really ever talk about anything. He sat back down. “GO ON, BROTHER.”

Sans cast his dark eye socket at his lap. The magic given to him had helped ease the pain a little at least so talking wasn't so hard.

“this is all going to sound pretty crazy but... i need you to just listen, ok?” Sans began. Usually he never liked to talk about everything he went through but he truly felt like if this continued on he would die, possibly for good. All he could do was prepare Papyrus for that if it were to happen.

“everything that flower said was true. i've watched you die... a lot. too many times to count. i haven't always been there for you. i tried when i could but...” He paused to keep his composure. “i know you don't remember but time resets. that flower is able to control it. there's nothing we can do about it. i've killed him before but he just comes back and starts everything over. i'm sure he'll do it again soon.”

“BUT, SANS-” Papyrus began but was silenced as his brother looked at him. That black void of an eye looked so tired and given up he stopped himself to let Sans finish.

“he's been resetting a lot recently. i've gone through this same day over and over for awhile now. i don't know how long it's actually been. i know it doesn't seem like any time has passed to you but that's why i'm like this. you don't remember but... i do. he's messing with me because he can't beat me any other way.”

Sans trailed off and turned his head, mentally preparing himself for what he truly had been wanting to say from the start. He could feel the weight of his words push his shoulders down, causing him to slump even more than he already was.

“pap...” He turned to look at his brother. “he might win. i'm... i'm not in good shape right now. i need you to be strong when i'm gone.”

Despite the words finally coming out he didn't feel any better. If anything he felt worse. The look on Papyrus' face didn't help things either. It looked like he wasn't sure how to react to all this knowledge. Eventually his brother forced a smile.

“SANS, YOU KNOW I'M STRONG. I CAN... I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF. BUT THAT'S BESIDES THE POINT, YOU'RE GOING TO BE FINE AND WE'LL NEVER BE APART.”

Sans chuckled weakly. “bro... we've been apart before. it's horrible. i just... i just want you to be a little prepared, ok?” He looked up at Papyrus. “make me a promise that you won't fight him. i want you to run to undyne or get someone from the guard or... even the king, i don't care who, just... run away. if i'm gone just get somewhere safe.”

His brother looked at him and slowly turned to face forward, staring at the TV as the light flickered gently into the dark living room. “SANS... YOU KNOW I CAN'T DO THAT. I NEED TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT, NOT HIDE BEHIND THEM.”

Despite this being the exactly opposite of what he requested, Sans couldn't help but smile a little. A boney hand reached over, patting Papyrus' hands. “... yeah... i know, bro... it was worth a shot at least.”

“I'LL PROTECT YOU SANS. I MIGHT NOT... FULLY UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT BUT I'LL BE HERE FOR YOU NO MATTER WHAT.” Papyrus smiled and reached an arm around his brother, gently pulling him close and squeezing him.

“yeah... i can always rely on you, pap.”

Their talk hadn't gone exactly how he wanted, but somehow he was comforted either way. Papyrus was good for that.

Another day went by without a reset. As much as Sans didn't want to go to sleep there was no denying his body that it was exhausted. Already being a rather lazy guy didn't help, of course. He slept off and on throughout the day, Papyrus staying home to care for him and repair some of the damage done to their home.

The medicine kept the pain to something that was at least bearable, but it didn't help heal the crack in his skull or stop the overflow of magic forcing itself out of his system. Papyrus kept his bandage clean and waited on him hand and foot like a worried mother. Days passed like this without any resets but still Sans was getting no better. The discomfort might have been lessened but he had nightmares every time he closed his eyes and each time they opened he had to fight himself from having anxiety attacks over whether or not the timeline had reset.

One day Papyrus finally left him to attend to his puzzles and show up for training again. He couldn't skip out on his responsibilities forever, after all. Sans was left alone to spend most of the day sleeping, but even he was getting tired of laying around in the same spot. It took a lot of work but he got to his feet and pulled on his jacket. It was getting late so most monsters would already be indoors, but just in case some were outside he pulled up his hood to hide his bandaged face.

The trek to Grillby's was slow but he got there eventually. He chose to go around to the back, not wanting to head in the front and potentially give everyone a fright with how horrible he looked. He was really looking forward to eating something other than Papyrus' spaghetti though.

Sans knocked on the door and waited. Grillby opened it after a few minutes and stood there, expressionless face staring down at the short skeleton.

“hey grillby.” He tried to smile but it was hard when half your face was wrapped up. “sorry about coming in the back way. i didn't want to give everyone a scare.”

Grillby stepped aside and let him in, waiting until the door was closed to speak. “... You look terrible...” He said, voice fading in and out with every time he started a sentence, each word crackling like fire.

“yeah i know. listen i'll tell ya all about it if you get me a burg and let me eat in the back. i've been cooped up in the house for days and i can only take so much of pap's spaghetti.”

Grillby stared at him for another moment before overturning a few crates for a makeshift table, as well as pulling up a spare bar stool for Sans to sit on.

“thanks.”

As the bartender left to go prepare his meal Sans sighed and let himself rest. Walking here had taken a lot more out of him than he had originally thought it would.


	4. Chapter 4

Grillby returned with a burger and a bottle of ketchup, grabbing another bar stool to sit himself across from Sans. The skeleton wasted no time in digging in, pausing only to wash it down with ketchup straight from the bottle. By this point Grillby wasn't the least bit phased by Sans' odd... tastes.

“... Everyone is worried about you...” The monster finally said, breaking the silence.

“tell 'em i'm fine.”

“... Are you...?”

Sans went silent, Grillby allowing it to last for longer than most others would before the flames of his head sparked a little higher and his voice became more stern. “... Sans...”

“i know, grillby.” Sans sighed, finishing his burger in record time before wiping his face on the back of his sleeve. “... no. not really. i'm not.”

He wasn't sure why he was being so honest with everyone suddenly. Maybe feeling so close to death did that to you, made you an honest monster.

“someone is messing with me, making my magic overload. i can't stop them or keep myself from falling apart. i don't know if i'm going to last much longer.” Sans stopped to guzzle nearly the entire bottle of ketchup. “you can't help. pap can't help. nobody can.”

“... Sans...” Grillby stared down at him, voice sad despite having no actual face to express. They shared an uncomfortable silence before Sans broke it with a laugh.

“nah i'm kiddin' grillby. i'm an idiot and fell flat on my face.” He tried to joke off. Grillby obviously didn't buy it and was about to scold him until the familiar bell of the door opening caught his attention. The bar couldn't be left unattended forever. Grillby turned to look to the door into the main area of the bar, then back to Sans as if warning him not to leave while he took care of business. He stood and headed to the front.

Sans waited for a few minutes after Grillby was gone to dig into the pocket of his coat and pull out a large wad of money and set it beside his empty plate. If he didn't pay his tab now he wasn't sure he would ever have the chance. With a grunt he stood, guzzling the last bit of ketchup before quietly making his way out the back of the bar.

-

The walk home was more painful than the walk out. Sans could tell the magic medicine was wearing off. He had only gotten halfway back home when the familiar sound of snow dispersing behind him caused his entire body to lock up.

“Howdy! Thought I forgot about you?”

Sans didn't turn around to face him.

“Well I didn't. Your idiot brother and I are having a lot of fun. We're just outside the ruins. You can come play too! … Unless of course you don't care about your brother and want me to kill him over and over again. You like that, don't you?” Flowey cackled and, just as quick as he appeared, vanished under the snow.

Sans stood there for a few moments before his walk began anew. He walked passed their house, stopping for a moment to look at it before continuing on through the puzzles Papyrus had laid for a human if one ever came and then through the woods towards the ruins. By the time he reached the trees he was panting. Being out of shape didn't help but the medication was wearing off fast. The pain was becoming more unbearable by the minute.

He could hear Papyrus not far ahead of him. After passing a thick row of trees he came upon the same scene he had seen the night before, Flowey lashing out at the skeleton with vines and thorns. Papyrus had been fighting for a long time it seemed, his body crumpled on the ground battered and cracked. His HP was dangerously low but Flowey seemed to be intentionally keeping him alive.

The flower laughed, wrapping tendrils around Papyrus and squeezing tightly. “Look Papyrus! It's your brother come here to save the day!”

Papyrus turned to look at Sans, eyes wide. “SANS! PLEASE JUST... GO GET THE GUARD! DON'T FIGHT HIM!”

Sans stood there, motionless. There was a loud crack followed by Papyrus screaming. Flowey laughed, his vines squeezing tighter still. Finally Sans reached up and began to undo his bandage, Papyrus yelled again.

“SANS! DON'T!”

The soiled wrapping were tossed on the ground. Magic flickered from Sans' eye and the glow in his chest pulsed rhythmically.

“sorry pap...”

The last thing Sans heard was Papyrus yelling at him to stop. The world felt like it all crumbled away, leaving only him and Flowey standing off against one another. As his magic intensified and inched dangerously close to it's limit he suddenly remembered the other times he had fought him. Flowey had killed nearly everyone at least once... but not him. It wasn't just for Papyrus anymore, it was for everyone. He wasn't sure if he would survive this fight or even win, but he had to try. Too many times had he sat back until the last minute, waiting for everyone else to act before jumping in himself. This might all be in vain, but... this was his last shot.

Sans took a deep breath.

Flowey glowed blue as Sans slammed him into the ground with a gesture of his left hand, then brought his hand up to summon rows of bones straight through the bulk of Flowey's vines. Magic flickered from his eye, another signal sending out waves of bones crashing forward. From it all the plant laughed. This was different, Flowey could tell. This was going to be fun.

A vine crashed down to where Sans stood but the skeleton somehow managed to dodge it at the last second. No matter, there was no way he could dodge forever, especially not in his current condition.

Blasters appeared all around him, Flowey raising tendrils to block the majority of each blow away from his main body sat in the middle of it all. With a flick of one his vines sent seeds outward in an arch, but all they did was crash into unoccupied snow as Sans side-stepped each one with that same stupid grin, his right hand still in his coat pocket. Somehow it was like this was as easy as it had ever been.

Flowey was beginning to get annoyed.

More bones were sent outward, blue and white forcing the plant to either stand still and let them pass through him unharmed or dodge. Doing so with massive vines sprouting everywhere made avoiding them near impossible, but he had enough HP to be able to take most of what Sans could dish out. All he needed to do was land one hit. One measly hit.

He lashed out with his tendrils again, Sans faltering but still managing to avoid every attack thrown at him. He stumbled a little, the crack in his skull growing ever larger. Sans gagged, blue magic dribbling from his eye and mouth, but he managed to keep himself together. Flowey cackled manically. That's what he wanted to see.

Sans sent out another onslaught, bones colliding from both sides. He tried to plow through the vines that were protecting the small flower at in the middle, but just as before Flowey blocked what he could before sending out seeds and tendrils to try and hit Sans at least once. Again they all failed, but he could tell the skeleton was truly reaching his limit. His face was starting to sag, body beginning to melt.

“You can't do this forever, Sans! I'll win eventually!”

The fight continued, Flowey letting lose attack after attack just as Sans was beginning to slow down. He knew it wouldn't last. He knew that he would win this time. This time would be his victory. Once he beat Sans he would know for certain that nothing could stand in his way in the underground.

“I'll kill you for getting in my way of that stupid old king. Then I'll kill him too with enough practice! Sooner or later you all become predictable! It's just a shame I had to do things a little differently with you, Sans. For a lazy sack of trash you sure do move fast!”

Flowey was right. Sans could only dodge for so long. A vine managed to wrap around his ankle, twisting tightly before swinging the skeleton like a doll towards one of the nearby trees. He managed to teleport away just in time, instead rolling into the snow a couple of feet away. He had finally hit his limit.

There was a loud crack as Sans' skull split open further. He couldn't push himself up, his limbs beginning to melt into the snow. His chest retched, magic spewing from his eye and mouth and pooling around him. He could hear Flowey's cackling grow louder and louder.

“You were entertaining for awhile at least, I'll give you that!”

Sans looked up from the ground, past the snow that had gathered around his head. Drips of his own body melting clouded his vision. This really was it, huh? He couldn't do it. Just like every time before he was a failure at protecting what mattered the most to him. Did he really have nothing left?

A thorn-covered tendril raised up above him and began to crash down. It drew closer and closer. Time seemed to slow. Sans' confusing, jumbled lives flashed around in his head for one last time.

Papyrus. Papyrus had always died before him. Papyrus had never been left alone. This would be the first time he would need to live without his brother. He would watch his lazybones, good-for-nothing brother die.

Papyrus was going to be devastated. He was going to be alone. Who would read him bedtime stories? Who would put a roof over his head? Who would tell him terrible jokes just to get a rise out of him? Who would protect that childlike innocence that his brother never seemed to grow out of? Would he lose hope just like he had? The image of Papyrus in a similar state to his own filled his mind. Depressed. Tired. Given up. The thought twisted his soul into knots. No... he couldn't have that. It couldn't happen.

The last emotion he felt was rage.

Flowey's vine slammed into the ground but felt nothing underneath. No crunch, no splat, just snow. “... Wha- HURK!”

A boney, slimy hand grabbed around his stem from behind, choking out any words that might have came. He bent his head as much as he could to see behind him, Sans laying in the snow and melting into it more by the second. One last blaster appeared above him, melting almost as much as it's wielder before its maw opened to fire one last, powerful blast directly into Flowey from behind. It took Sans' arm with it, but at this point it no longer mattered. The pain had reached such a head that it was almost euphoric.

The vines turned to dust. Flowey was, once again, nothing but a charred patch of earth.

Sans' head collapsed into the snow. The fire in his eye and the glow of his soul began to fade. Just as he was about to slip away he felt someone grab at him.

Papyrus rolled him over, his mouth moving and shouting. Tears streamed down his cheekbones. Sans knew he was yelling but everything was muffled, like cotton had been stuffed inside his skull.

“hey... pap...”

There was more yelling, Papyrus clutched at his brother's melting body.

“man your... brother is one... big... dumb... doo-doo head isn't he...?” Sans joked, his vision beginning to fade. “you'll... be ok... i promise...”

He could tell Papyrus was sobbing uncontrollably now, the blurred image of his shoulders bouncing and heaving.

“i... love you...”

His slimy body turned dry, crumbling in his clothes in Papyrus' arms.

Papyrus screamed.

Sans opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling of his bedroom. The image no longer brought him panic and the pain he had endured for days, perhaps weeks, was gone. Now he was just tired. Was this what it was like to be brought back after death? Or was he only feeling so drained because he remembered it? He didn't even notice the footsteps coming up the stairs but the knock finally pulled him from his daze.

“SANS? YOU NEED TO GET UP, YOU'RE LATE FOR YOUR JOBS AGAIN!”

He pushed himself out of bed, rings around his eye sockets darker than usual. Sans opened the door, greeted by the lanky skeleton still wearing that silly costume he had made. As Papyrus opened his mouth to comment on his brother's laziness, Sans leaned forward and wrapped his arms around him. He squeezed him tight, burying his face into Papyrus' chest piece.

Papyrus blinked and looked down, eventually smiling and giving his brother a tight hug back. He didn't know what had prompted this display of affection but he was never one to shy away from such things.

They hugged for longer than usual, Sans breaking the hug after awhile and sighing. So he got to see his brother again after all. It only felt like minutes ago that he was dying in his arms and watching him sob uncontrollably.

“I'M NOT SURE WHAT THAT WAS ABOUT BUT I'M ALWAYS HERE FOR SUPPORTIVE BROTHERLY LOVE.” Papyrus grinned, then tapped a knuckle against Sans' skull playfully. “NOW GET DRESSED, YOU'RE ALREADY LATE. I MADE BREAKFAST, IT'S IN THE FRIDGE.”

Sans watched Papyrus walk away and down the stairs, a genuine smile spreading across his face. He approached the banister, waving back to his brother as Papyrus opened the door and left for patrol. Once he was gone Sans stood there for a moment, just enjoying the feeling of having the chance to be with his brother again.

The day went by just like every other. He went to his sentry jobs, to Grillby's, and periodically checked in on Papyrus perhaps a little more than usual. The truth was he just wanted to be near him as much as possible.

No one remembered a thing.

Sans sat at his sentry post nearest to the ruins, his feet kicked up on the counter and his hood pulled up while he dozed. The feeling of being watched and the sound of shifting snow caught his attention. Sans pushed down his hood and looked to his left. Flowey was sat there staring at him... but this time he wasn't smiling.

“You know... I could do that all over again.” He began, a nervous smile spreading across his face. “I could do it again and again until I finally win. You were weak. All I had to do was reset a few more times and then you'd die. Nothing could stop me from getting to the king.”

The skeleton sat upright and leaned against the desk of his post, white points of light staring at Flowey with disinterest.

“You're really annoying, you know that?” The plant glared. “You can't do this forever... and I have all the time in the world. I could reset right now if I wanted to, send you straight back to your room.” Flowey grinned, going on about how he would eventually achieve victory or how he might give Sans the pleasure of watching him kill Papyrus over and over again like before.

Nothing he said seemed to gain the skeleton's interests like it had previous times. Sans leaned his cheek on his palm and listened only halfheartedly. As Flowey waxed poetic about slaughter and mayhem, Sans casually reached over to a pile of snow that had collected on the edge of his outpost, pushing it off the edge until it came crashing down onto the flower in the middle of his sentence. It shut him up quickly.

Sans wasted no time in standing up, stepping straight over Flowey as he wrestled the snow from his petals.

“Hey! You can't-”

“listen bud-dy, i'm tired. you've been the root of all my problems recently, but i'm done being the receptacle of all your boredom. now i'd love to stamen and chat, but-”

“UGH!” Flowey couldn't hold it in anymore, flailing his leaves in annoyance. “GO!”

Sans smirked and shrugged his shoulders, taking a few more steps before his image glitched out of existence only to appear elsewhere.

He always teleported out of sight of Papyrus even though his brother knew something strange was going on. Sans appeared out from behind one of the trees, approaching his brother as he knelt over one of his puzzles. He never tried to be sneaky, the sound of slippers against snow was pretty distinct.

“SHOULDN'T YOU BE AT YOUR POST, BROTHER?” Papyrus said without turning around. He knew who it was walking up behind him.

“eh, just wanted to come see what you were doing.” Sans shrugged.

“RECALIBRATING MY PUZZLES, UNLIKE A CERTAIN LAZYBONES I KNOW.”

Sans smiled and sat down beside Papyrus, watching him work with silent adoration. Time passed by as it always did. Papyrus finished what he was doing and the two ended up making snowmen... well, Papyrus did at least. Sans spent most of the time watching. As it got late the two headed home.

“AREN'T YOU GOING TO GRILLBY'S?” Papyrus asked, a little surprised when his brother continued on beside him as they passed his favorite joint.

“not feelin' it tonight. i think i can go for some of your spaghetti.” Sans smiled. Papyrus' face brightened.

“REALLY? I'LL MAKE A FRESH BATCH JUST FOR YOU.”

They spent the night quietly in their home, the TV airing a rerun of one of Mettaton's shows. Usually Sans fell asleep during them after choking down his brother's cooking, but this time he stayed awake and enjoyed every bite. Papyrus didn't even need to wake him up to read him a bedtime story.

Sans read Fluffy Bunny just like he had hundreds of times before, but this time seemed much more special. He watched as his brother slowly fell asleep towards the end and sat there in the dark, not really wanting to move or go to his own room to sleep.

Eventually he yawned and leaned forward, taking his sleeping brother's hand and squeezing it in his own. With his skull resting on the puffy sleeve of his coat he watched the rhythmic up and down of Papyrus' breathing. He closed his eyes, letting the soothing energy of his brother's soul nearby lull him to sleep.

Maybe he would wake up in his bed again. Maybe the world would start over anew. But... maybe it wouldn't. There was nothing he could do about it, so he didn't worry anymore. If it happened, it happened. All that mattered was spending what time he had with the greatest, most wonderful thing in his life.


End file.
